ONE Direction star Louis Tomlinson has revealed loud and persistent screaming from the band’s dedicated/demented fans has left him partially deaf in one ear.

WHAT do Chris Martin, Plan B, Ludwig van Beethoven and, now Louis Tomlinson have in common?

Tinnitus.

The One Direction star has revealed loud and persistent screaming from the band’s dedicated/demented fans has left him partially deaf in one ear.

Now, management are insisting the quintet - Louis, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne - all wear in-ear soundpieces when on stage and during all rehearsal sessions.

The 20-year-old hottie was bombarded by fans as One D performed in Liverpool last week and suffered three days of headaches as a result.

Shortly before headlining at the city’s Radio City Live, he said: “I am actually going slightly deaf in my right ear. It’s tinnitus... something like that.

“All our fans are always very loud, especially Scousers.”

While, officially, it is understood Louis has not been formally diagnosed with the debilitating ear condition - which, if left untreated, can result in deafness - he has been warned about playing music too loudly.

He must also be careful not to play his ipod at full volume as this, again, accelerates the deterioration of the ear.

A source close to the X Factor stars said: “One D fans are notoriously loudly and their screams during gigs started affecting the boys on stage.

“When watching them, the band’s security team and family now have to wear earplugs.

“The guys are only young, and still developing, so management insist they wear special, hi-tech in-ear earpieces and filters to reduce the noise of the fans’ screaming. It also reduces the levels of bass and music from the stage.

“When Louis made his comments, he had really bad earache but, thankfully, this has now cleared up but he knows to be careful in future.”

Tinnitus is described as the perception of a persistent buzzing sound within the ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin recently admitted to suffering from tinnitus, the result of listening to, and playing, music at full blast.

He said: “Looking after your ears is unfortunately something you don’t think about until there's a problem.

“I’ve had tinnitus for about ten years, and since I started protecting my ears it hasn’t got any worse – touch wood. But I wish I’d thought about it earlier.”